From a TR Announcement:
Thomson Reuters today reported results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012. The company reported revenues from ongoing businesses of $3.2 billion, a 4% increase before currency. Adjusted EBITDA increased 15% with the corresponding margin up 260 basis points to 25.9%. Underlying operating profit increased 2% with a corresponding margin of 17.1% versus 17.4% in the prior-year period.
Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) were $0.44 compared to $0.37 in the first quarter of 2011.
“The first-quarter performance was consistent with our full-year expectations,” said James C. Smith, chief executive officer of Thomson Reuters. “The Legal, Tax & Accounting and IP & Science businesses each performed well. Our Financial & Risk business continues to make progress in a very difficult environment. We are executing against a more focused strategy. In all, we are on track and affirm our full-year outlook.”
Legal
- Revenues increased 3%. US Law Firm Solutions grew 2% driven by a 12% increase in Business of Law revenues (FindLaw and Elite) with research-related revenues flat. Corporate, Government and Academic revenues rose 4%. Global businesses grew 7% with good growth in Latin America.
- EBITDA increased 5% and the associated margin increased 60 basis points to 34.7%.
- Operating profit increased 5% and the associated margin was 25.7% compared to 25.2% in the prior-year period.
- WestlawNext has been sold to approximately 65% of Westlaw’s revenue base.
Intellectual Property & Science
- Revenues were up 4% driven by growth in the IP Solutions and Scientific & Scholarly Research businesses, partly offset by a 1% decline in Life Sciences revenues due to timing of renewals and a difficult comparable in the first quarter of 2011.
- EBITDA increased 9% with the corresponding margin increasing 160 basis points to 34.4%.
- Operating profit increased 6% with the corresponding margin increasing 40 basis points to 26.3%.
- Small movements in the timing of expenses can impact margins in any given quarter for the Intellectual Property & Science business. Full-year margins are more reflective of the segment’s underlying performance.
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